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Garamantian Agriculture: The Plant Remains from Zinchecra, Fezzan

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 March 2015

Marijke van der Veen
Marijke van der Veen*
Affiliation:
School of Archaeological Studies, University of Leicester
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Abstract

Excavations at Zinchecra, a hill fort settlement of the Garamantes in Fezzan, southern Libya, have recovered a rich assemblage of desiccated and carbonised plant remains. The archaeobotanical analysis of this assemblage has produced a unique insight into the state of agriculture in the Sahara during the first half of the first millennium BC. Three cereal crops and three fruit crops have been identified, as well as salad plants and aromatic herbs. The use of wild plant resources has also been attested. The assemblage is dated by eleven radiocarbon dates to 900–400 cal BC. A well-developed agricultural regime was present, despite the harsh climatic conditions.

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Libyan Studies , Volume 23 , 1992 , pp. 7 - 39
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Libyan Studies 1992

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